"Very bad experience. Ordered camera, everything looked fine, showed as "processing" on website. Received a message from a sales guy saying my order was having "billing difficulties" and I needed to call him to fix my order. So I call him, he asks for my credit card security number, and I give it to him. THEN, he tried to sell me stuff I didn't want to buy like "special" batteries, accessories, etc. for like the next half hour. I told him no, over and over. He kept changing the deal, giving me better offers. I continued to tell him "NO! I ORDERED WHAT I WANTED, IF I WANTED ANY OF THAT OTHER STUFF, I COULD HAVE GOTTEN IT OFF THE WEBSITE!!!" Finally after 30 minutes of my refusals to all his HIGH PRESSURE SALES TACTICS, he says bye. I'm thinking my order is fixed since I gave him my credit card security number so I wait a few days for the camera to ship. BUT, I check the later, and my order had changed, to include the freakin' battery he was trying to sell me!!!!! I couldn't believe it, and on top of that, I got another call from the billing department asking me to call them about my order. I call them, and they say my order was having problems with my credit card. I lost it, I asked, "Then why the hell did I spend half an hour with "Mike" talking about my order. And why did he ask me for my CC security number?" The guy replies, "I don't know why he asked you for it." Finally out of disgust, I just asked them to cancel my order.
I recommend you stay away from this dirty retailer. Unless you enjoy the gamble of getting a order go through successfully, or having to play mind games with a sales guy trying to rip you off, STAY AWAY."
"I ordered a Pentax s5i online but they called to "verify" the order. What this really is, is an excuse to deliver a sales-pitch with Mike. They tried selling you batteries, flash cards, whatever they think they can. I decided against the camera and called to cancel it before it was shipped. They shipped it anyway. I refused the delivery and they got it back. They told me it would be 14 more days before they could refund my money. I emailed them 5 days ago demanding the refund immediately. They never returned the email. Today I will call the bank. This is disgusting. I will not use them again.
I think some of the reviews on here are a little "shady". Beware of any review that says they did not recieve a verification sales call, because this seller does them.
UPDATE : Its been 2 weeks since they have recieved the return, they still havent replied to emails, returned phone calls, or returned the money. I have to get the bank involved now. Thanks a lot Butterfly, you robbing swindlers."
"Excellent service! I recieved instant confirmation, and the order was completely processed minutes later. I purchased an accessories package for my camera, and it was shipped outwithin 24 hours of purchase."
"I purchased a Nikon Coolpix 5400 camera from Butterflyphoto.com
I read the review here, and was hestitant about ordering from them, but the price was right, so I ordered.
Two days later, I got the expected upsell call from Butterflyphoto. Told them I didn't need any of the extra items they were trying to sell (batteries/flash card). They were not pushy at all, and took 'no' for an answer with out any problems.
Bottom line is they have the lowest price I could find, and lower by quite a bit. Personally, I don't care if they need to upsell to people, if it means *I* get the lowest price I can."
"I bought a Pentax *ist DS Digital SLR camera from them, mainly because of the price and the reviews seemed fair enough for the cameras. Because I read about the phone call they give you for all internet sales, I just called them directly to order. Yes, the salesman pressured me for a good 6 minutes about buying accessories, such as a memory card (which I purchased at newegg.com for a cheaper price) - but after that, the order was processed VERY quickly, I was upgraded to FedEx 2-Day automatically (for free) and my packaged arrived VERY quickly. So if you can handle saying "No" a few times on the accessories, then you're set. I'll buy from them again."
"After i ordered ONe week ago....they still did not even ship the unit yet....even though they are quick to charge ur card they take their dam time in shipping merchandise to you! And their shipping prices are unfair....$30 for ground shipping on items that cost easily 15 to ship..."
"I have shopped with these guys before and was satisfied then so I thought I would give them another try. I purchased a Canon SD900 point and shoot digital camera this time around with little problem. Yes they tried to up sell me on accessories, which I politely denied, and finally after several attempts Jason M relented and processed my order. I was a bit afraid that he may come back with the old "sorry the camera is out of stock" routine but he did not --- Thanks. I recieved my camera within 6 days, new in the box as promised. I hope to not have any problems with it. I'm sure I will have the chance to buy from them again and I hope things will go o.k. but you never know. "
" I ordered a Lumix DMC FZ15 Digital Camera from Butterfly Photo and reluctantly agreed to purchase a spare battery at a $10 reduction in price because I was a new customer but upon receipt of the invoice I found that I was charged the full price of $69. Numerous phone calls to talk to "George" netted me a transfer to extention 211 where the message told me to leave my number and he would get back to me. Of course that never happened and I'm out the ten bucks. I am dissapointed at their high rating and will not be going back to them for a flash attachment and some other things I want."
"I bought a Nikon camera from this store for about $500. After several delays while they called me and tried to sell me $100 worth of unnecessary accessories, it arrived broken. I called the same day, but Butterfly said the item was no longer in "as new" condition. Their web site, to which they referred me, does not describe "as new" condition. I had to send the camera back to the manufacturer, and I still haven't gotten a response from them. Beware of these crooks! "
"I am very satisfied with my purchase of a Panasonic FZ20 digital camera. was told I would receive the camera in a week or 10 days and I recieced it in two, after calling to confirm the sale. This is my second purchase this year and they have treated me very well each time. They are my favorite photo store now."
"Please do not use them if you want to be lied to, cheated and harassed.
I ordered a Samsung 50" DLP TV online on Aug 31,2004. It was the beginning of my worst nightmare, the service folks continually misinformed me of shipping details, after 3 weeks it had still not been shipped. Their price for that particular TV had gone up significantly due to higher demand, therefore, I think they decided it was best not to fullfil my order. They even recommended I cancel my order, and I DID. I think it was just not worth it, for a few extra bucks I went to Best Buy.
Their software system is terrrible, no billing confirmation, poor customer service, very poor.
I am just being a good citizen by warning others, they also go by another name Digital E-tailer.
"
"I research for a couple of weeks trying to decide what company to order from. I decided to go and pay just a few more dollars at Butterfly. I heard they pressure you to buy accessories so I was a little nervous. I recieved a email to call and confirm my order and I thought oh great here we go. I call Mike and he confirmed my address and asked if I need any accesories I said no and that was the end. I was shocked all this worry for nothing. My order was shipped so fast and I recieved great quality. I would order from them everytime. It is totally worth spending a few extra $$ not to go through the hassle that other companys put you through."
"Bought a Pentax *ist DS from them. Had no problems at all. They called me to ask if I needed any accessories but they did not hassle me. I'd defintely buy from these guys again."
"Purchased the Pentax *ist DS at the best price available at the time. Fantastic price.
Received the obligatory callback to push warranty options and accessories. Fairly hard sell and I agreed to purchase a lense filter that was a bit overpriced.
That said, they upgraded the shipping without me asking or paying, and they shipped out the next business day.
The filter didn't fit the camera and I sent it back for a refund. No hassles.
Altogether a good transaction. "
"Ordered a Panasonic PV-GS120 DV Camcorder. Two days later I received call confirming order and politely asking if I wanted to but accessories. No hassles. Order was shipped that same day. Very good price and service."